Mal’s eyes softened and he reached out to touch her face. “That sounds great. Although, isn’t there a limit to how many pairs of boots one set of feet can wear?”
“No,” Pippa and Dana said in unison.
Mal chuckled. “I’ll trust you on that.” He tugged Pippa outside, the obvious gentleness in contrast with his dangerous appearance. He drew Pippa close and pressed a kiss to her temple, while unobtrusively scouting the area to each side of the house, no doubt looking for problems.
Dana could just sigh in happiness at the love between the two. They’d certainly earned it after Malcolm had been shot while undercover and Pippa had escaped from a dangerous cult. It was nice to see them relaxed and not looking over their shoulders constantly.
Well, except when they were watching for Gary Rockcliff. He was a threat to the entire team. Thank goodness everyone was involved in the case now. The unit members had some definite quirks, but they got things done when they worked together. The intervention with Wolfe had been a little tense, but there had been something sweet and caring about it.
Mal turned serious, zeroing his focus in on her. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with us? We have a guest room, and both animals are welcome, too.”
“I’m sure,” Dana said. She’d probably be up all night writing and worrying about Wolfe, anyway. “Thanks for dinner, and the goodies. I’ll see you two tomorrow morning before we head in to work.” They still had to discuss the interviews with HDD, but she just couldn’t worry about one more thing right now.
Mal nodded. “Okay, but lock the door and set the alarm right after we leave. The sensors and cameras aren’t up around the properties yet, because Agent Frost had to special order all of it. Got it?”
“Yep.” Most of the Deep Ops guys were pretty bossy, weren’t they? In fact, so was Nari when it came to her meetings and Brigid when it came to her computer room or anything to do with the Internet. They should rename themselves the Bossy Bunch instead of Deep Ops. Dana chuckled and moved to shut and lock the door.
Dinner and talking with Pippa had been a nice distraction, but her stomach still hurt and her shoulders felt as if she’d had them tensed for days. Nothing would help that but Wolfe getting home safely. She turned back as Roscoe padded in from the bedroom, stretching after a nap. He headed for the back door. “Need to go out, huh?” She opened the door and let him bound out, watching him chase his tail around the backyard as darkness slowly began to descend.
Then Kat came out of nowhere, also wanting to go outside. He had a litter box in the laundry room, but he seemed to prefer the outdoors, so she let him wander out and sniff the grass, following Roscoe. The humidity hung low and heavy as she stepped out on the deck and sat on the stairs, shutting the door so as not to cool the outside, as her dad would’ve said.
She took a deep breath, looking out at the fence that enclosed the two backyards together. Beyond the fence was a trail and acres of forest, teeming with wildlife. How in the world was Millie Frost going to set sensors and cameras everywhere? It seemed impossible, especially since Wolfe and Pippa owned forty acres between them. Their bungalows were at the end of a long country road with forested land across from them.
The quiet countryside reminded Dana of home, and she leaned back against the glass, trying to relax. The animals played, chasing each other, Kat halfheartedly swiping at Roscoe’s nose.
She let them goof off for a while until they both looked too hot, and then she called them in. “It’s going to cool off someday,” she said, standing and shutting the door to securely lock it before setting the alarm.
Both animals headed for their bowls of food. The AC brushed her skin, and she shivered at the contrast with the heat.
She might as well get back to work. Instead of using the home off ice, she spread her notes across the kitchen table and started typing on her laptop, feeling cozy with the animals in the house and Mal and Pippa next door. Her thoughts kept returning to Wolfe, and she hoped Jethro was as good at backup as Angus had promised.
Her burner phone buzzed, and she scrambled for it. Maybe it was Wolfe. “Hello?”
“Hi, Dana. It’s Dr. Georgetown.”
Oh. She’d forgotten all about the doctor. “Hi. Is everything okay with my blood?” Had there been something else in the drug cocktail? She’d kept her worry under wraps, but it’d be nice to have confirmation that some bizarre disease or germ wasn’t crawling through her system.
“I just wanted to let you know that everything is normal and I didn’t find any trace of those drugs or anything odd in your blood. Well, Donald didn’t find anything. He did the actual tests.” The doctor sneezed several times.
“Bless you,” Dana said.
“Thanks.” The sound of papers shuffling came over the line. “I’ll need to test Wolfe’s blood, just to make sure, when he’s available. Have him call me.”
Dana took a sip of her water. “I will. Hopefully soon.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “There is one more thing. I’d rather tell you this in person, but Donald and I are going on holiday tomorrow, so over the phone will have to do.”
Dana stopped breathing.
“Dana? We found a significant amount of hCG in your blood.”
Dana’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. She tried again, clearing her throat. “I, ah, you, um, is it possible to have hCG and not be pregnant?”
“Probably not, hon.” He was quiet, letting her digest the news. “We can talk about options, if you like.”
“No. Thanks.” Her body went numb, and she stared at Roscoe, who’d turned from his food to watch her. “I appreciate your calling.” She didn’t hear much of what else the doctor said before she hung up. Something about prenatal vitamins and rest.
She’d had a feeling. Oh, she’d shoved it down with logic and statistics and distractions, but deep down, she’d had an odd feeling about that night with Wolfe that she couldn’t explain.
